Sneaky Robotic battlefield gizmos.

[Ninja_Stoker]

Here’s a couple of items that may interest fellow gadget geeks, such as myself: Military Robots and Robotic bugs

 

[FletchPRMC]

Pretty cool, but with regards to the bugs, what I think is pretty bad is that fact that they were first devleoped for war, secondly for search and rescue. I think that is pretty piss poor but the world we live in I suppose.

 

[Ninja_Stoker]

Fair point.

The problem is military hardware research is always "cutting edge" in times of conflict, such as the times we live in, for obvious reasons because that's how you win. There's loads of examples of militarily developed inventions being used in civil applications to the benefit of all: Penicillin, Perspex (Plexi-glass), Thermal Imaging Cameras, Nuclear bombs came before Nuclear power, etc. That's where the money is invested and therefore funding is provided.

What's good is that civil applications can be provided as a spin-off but minus the research costs which have been absorbed by the military research. Granted, it's a shame the money isn't there for development in civil applications first but if you do not defend your civil infrastructure, then you have to buy someone else's invention or self fund the R&D costs commercially, thus increasing the cost of the end product to offset.

 

[Midnight_assassin]

love the way all this technology is unfolding! soon will have little robots in our blood sysytem repairing damaged muscles etc! just don't hope the entire terminator thing comes true :S

 

[Ashley]

Who knows? Blue Bottle flies might actually be spy cameras, sent by the government to keep tabs on us!?